The investigative interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects is one of the most frequent and important tasks undertaken by those conducting law enforcement investigations. Over the past 20 years or so, there has been a substantial growth in the amount of research examining the practice. Nonetheless, little research has been conducted into those interviews where an interpreter is increasingly present. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the present study examined the beliefs of 66 investigators and 40 interpreters in the context of international criminal investigations, concerning certain key tasks in such interpreter-assisted interviews. It was regularly found that there was not always a consensus of opinion either within or between these two groups of professionals concerning whether (when participating in investigative interviews) (1) they prepared jointly with each other; (2) interpreters assisted (or otherwise) with rapport building; (3) interpreters could interpret accurately; and (4) interpreter interventions were disruptive or not. Given such divisions of opinion, our findings tend to suggest that there is a lack of clarity as to the role of interpreters and, indeed, only personalised views as to what is best practice. The implications of our findings are discussed, and recommendations are made to enable practice enhancement.

中文翻译：

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口译员协助的访谈：检查调查员和口译员的实践观点

对受害者，证人和嫌疑犯进行调查性采访是执法人员进行的最频繁，最重要的任务之一。在过去的20年左右的时间里，研究该方法的研究量有了很大的增长。但是，对于那些越来越多的口译人员的采访，很少进行研究。本研究使用自我管理的调查表，考察了66名调查员和40名口译员在国际刑事调查中的信念，这些信念涉及口译员协助采访中的某些关键任务。经常发现，在这两组专业人员内部或之间，在（是否参加调查性采访时）（1）他们是否共同编写；在他们之间是否总是有共识？（2）口译人员（或以其他方式）协助建立融洽关系；（3）口译员能准确口译；（4）口译员干预是否具有破坏性。考虑到这种观点分歧，我们的发现倾向于表明，对于口译员的角色缺乏明确的认识，实际上，对于最佳实践，只有个性化的看法。讨论了我们研究结果的含义，并提出了一些建议以增强实践。（4）口译员干预是否具有破坏性。考虑到这种观点分歧，我们的发现倾向于表明，对于口译员的角色缺乏明确的认识，实际上，对于最佳实践，只有个性化的看法。讨论了我们研究结果的含义，并提出了一些建议以增强实践。（4）口译员干预是否具有破坏性。考虑到这种观点分歧，我们的发现倾向于表明，对于口译员的角色缺乏明确的认识，实际上，对于最佳实践，只有个性化的看法。讨论了我们研究结果的含义，并提出了一些建议以增强实践。